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Dear Ted,
I just finished my site tour in Lubbock, Texas and I had to tell you about it. Remember last
year's convention, where we spent most of our time on shuttles? Well, not this year.
Getting around is so quick and easy in Lubbock. In fact I think a lot of things are going
to be easier here.
Everyone is so friendly and makes you feel so welcome, everywhere you go. I think that
will really play well with my association — and with that church group you're working
with. Actually, they have one of the best and most affordable golf courses in the US.
I know you need to look out for that executive retreat you're planning, in terms of budget
and perception, so you may want to look at Lubbock for that too.
My association meeting is about 250 to 300 people, so I was thinking about using the
Overton Hotel & Conference Center as our host hotel. It's the only Four Diamond hotel in
West Texas, and we could all meet under one roof. But there are a lot of other options
for overflow or for smaller groups like the Holiday Inn Hotel & Towers, Holiday Inn Park
Plaza, LaQuinta, Embassy Suites and Hawthorne Suites.
For our opening reception, I was thinking of using the Silent Wings Museum. Most of
the World War II glider pilots were trained there. The CVB knew a great swing band I could
use. In fact, there were so many musical resources and music-themed venues here that I'm going
make that a major part of this meeting.
There's the Buddy Holly Center and the West Texas Walk of Fame. You can get group tickets
to see shows at Moonlight Musicals or the Cactus Theatre, and most of it is located
in the Historic Depot Entertainment District. I was thinking of doing a progressive event
though there one evening. I really want my group to sample the variety of sights, sounds
and tastes Lubbock has to offer. Because this small town has so many big city amenities!
In fact, I just assumed that most of their events were in the 250 to 450-person range.
I had no idea they do up to 11,000-person meetings. Then I remembered the United Spirit
Arena on the Texas Tech campus, which seats 15,000 people, and they also have the weather
— and the plazas — to do large outdoor events as well.
I checked out the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center for you. I think you'll like it a lot. Their
40,000-sq. ft. exhibit hall is column-free, which I knew you'd love. And they also have
a 1,400-seat theater and 14,000-sq. ft. banquet hall.
I also thought you'd like the American Wind Power Center, home to the largest windmill
museum in the world, — you can take your groups there to learn about renewable energy,
and they also have meeting and event space.
Hey, did you know that Texas Tech has amazing speakers? The CVB is going to help me secure
a couple. Oh! And they have a place where you can go and watch prairie dogs. It's called
Prairie Dog Town — I love them. I think I'm going to have to fit that in somewhere
— maybe for a spousal or family tour.
For our closing night reception, I'm going to book the Cap Rock Winery. It's housed in
a beautiful Spanish Mission-style building and features event space perfect for groups
both big and small. There's actually a total of 5 wineries around Lubbock, all of which
offer tours and tastings.
The CVB is really taking great care of me. They're hooking me up with welcome bags and
programs, on-site registration and tours, signage, name badges, press releases for local
media and I think the Mayor is going to come and welcome our group. How cool is that?
Well Ted, I'd love to tell you more, but I have to sign off so I can enjoy this amazing
sunset at a Lubbock hot spot called The Roof. I may have to figure out how to bring people
here too.
OK, see you soon. Hopefully next spring in Lubbock!
Your friend, Sammy.